Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council handled a Blue Badge application because it is unlikely we would find fault causing significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the way the Council handled his father’s application for a Blue Badge when the current Badge came up for renewal. He said he disagreed there was any need to make another application. He said when they made the application the Council’s system failed to accept it and they were put to the trouble of making a second application. He said this caused distress to him and his father.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered:
• the information in Mr X’s complaint and from a telephone conversation with him;
• the Council’s response to Mr X’s complaint and its information about the Blue Bade application it processed.
5. Mr X had an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered his comments before making the final decision.

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What I found

What happened

6. Mr X’s father, Mr Y, has a Blue Badge due to expire in December 2020. The assessor who awarded the current badge had requested a review of Mr Y’s situation when the Badge came up for renewal. Mr X says the last assessment
   Mr Y had should have made clear Mr Y’s medical conditions could not have improved so argues no review was necessary.
7. In September 2020 the Council sent Mr Y a letter telling him the Blue Badge was due for renewal. The letter said Mr Y could use an online renewal form if his previous badge was awarded on automatic eligibility grounds, he was still receiving the same benefit or the Council had decided no further assessment was needed. It said if these circumstances did not apply he would have to reapply by submitting a new application. The letter asked Mr Y to apply online.
8. As Mr Y was due for a review on renewal of his badge, he had to make a new application.
9. Mr X made the application on Mr Y’s behalf. The system initially delayed confirming the creation of an account. Once the confirmation came through Mr X completed the application which took about three hours. He is certain he completed the application correctly, saving it as he went along and that the system confirmed the Council’s receipt of the application. However, he did not get an email confirmation of receipt. When he checked the account and contacted the Council he found the Council had not received a completed application.
10. Mr X complained to the Council about the failure of the system to receive his application. The Council said evidence from its system suggested Mr X may have saved rather than submitted the application. It said the Council was not aware of technical problems with the system at the time. It advised Mr X how to make a new application.
11. Mr Y did make another application, this time with the help of a community agent. The Council received the application and decided to award Mr Y a Blue Badge. The Council has now confirmed this to Mr Y.

Assessment

12. I will not investigate the recommendation made after Mr Y’s previous assessment, that his situation should be reviewed on renewal. It is unlikely we would find fault with the way the Council reached that decision.
13. Mr X had problems making an on-line Blue Badge application and spent more time on it than expected. However, I will not investigate this. It is unlikely we could pinpoint a system error which prevented the application being received. When
    Mr X raised the issue with the Council, it explained how the application appeared on its system and advised how to make a new application. Mr X did make a new application and the Council has now awarded Mr Y a Blue Badge. There is not enough outstanding injustice to warrant the Ombudsman’s further involvement.

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Final decision

14. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. It is unlikely we would find fault and there is not enough outstanding injustice to warrant investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman